12 Incredible Behind-The-Scenes WrestleMania Photos

5. The Main Event

The Rock Paige Ronda Rousey AJ Lee
WWE

Years before The Rock's unexpected return to part-time WWE action in 2011, fans had been desperate for 'The Great One' to work at least one more dream match, and just about everybody knew the ultimate use of his talents would be opposite Shawn Michaels.

Having made his unthinkable return to the ring in 2002, Michaels' demeanour may have changed, but his skills between the ropes hadn't.

Crucially though, due to Shawn's injury, his path rarely crossed with The Rock outside of fleeting appearances together in Shawn's brief drug-addled Attitude Era returns. The sense of mystery and 'what if?' left a lot on the table between the two, but according to insiders, it never even crossed The Rock's mind.

As it turned out, Shawn's 1990s tornado of toxicity blew through 'The Great One', with 'HBK' allegedly upsetting the Maivia family as well as constantly going to bat for his friend Triple H at Rock's expense whilst the two were on their stereo ascendancies.

With Michaels' in-ring expertise and The Rock's star power, the match would have been monumental, but it simply never came to pass. This picture taken the weekend Shawn went into the Hall of Fame at least espoused that tensions had pleasingly cooled between the duo.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation over 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. Within the podcasting space, he also co-hosts Benno & Hamflett, In Your House! and Podcast Horseman: The BoJack Horseman Podcast. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett